TWO FUTURES TIED together by intrigue and violence are at the heart of William Gibson’s latest. Brilliant. A MINUS

THE PERIPHERAL
Penguin Group USA
2014

A SHOCKING MURDER REVEALS a great deal about crime and punishment in 19th century Boston. Chilling stuff. SOLID B

THE WILDERNESS OF RUIN
William Morrow & Company
2015

THE END OF A MARRIAGE—heartbreaking, angry, confused—captured in elusive, poetic prose. Hauntingly lovely. B PLUS

ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF RAIN
Book Thug
2015

THE SCIENCE OF TASTE, ENTERTAININGLY presented in a seamlessly fact-packed book. Eye-opening, mouth-watering! B PLUS

TASTY : THE ART AND SCIENCE OF WHAT WE EAT
Scribner Book Company
2015

LIFE AND AFTERLIFE IN TODAY’S China are the topic of this dreamlike parable that doubles as a keen satire. B PLUS

THE SEVENTH DAY
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2015

BRILLIANT, BITTER SATIRE with a touch of magic! Darkly comic war novel may be the CATCH-22 of Iraq. B PLUS

ESCAPE FROM BAGHDAD!
The Unnamed Press
2015

RICHLY TEXTURED HISTORICAL novel inspired by the life of a 19th century Persian woman poet. Gorgeous prose! B PLUS

THE WOMAN WHO READ TOO MUCH
Stanford Univ Pr
2015

SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY AND THE PUBLIC interest: an impassioned, informed look from a distinguished historian. B PLUS

GALILEO’S MIDDLE FINGER
Penguin Press
2015

GRAND STEAMPUNK SHOOT-‘EM-UP, set in an alt-1870 where African and European empires vie for power. Smart fun! B PLUS

FROM HERE TO TIMBUKTU
MVmedia, LLC
2015

VIBRANT, INTENSE THRILLER mixes politics and murder in a tightly knit black Houston neighborhood, ca. 1996. A MINUS

PLEASANTVILLE
HarperCollins Publishers
2015